• NZSA Peter and Dianne Beatson Fellowship 2026 open

    The Peter and Dianne Beatson Fellowship is awarded each year to a mid-career or senior writer to work on a project that shows a high level of literary merit and national significance and is donated by Peter Beatson. We thank Peter for his continuing and generous support of New Zealand writers. Open to writers of […]

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  • ASLA DANZ Children’s Book Award Winners 2026 Announced

    On Saturday, July 25 inside the glorious Global Change Institute at University Queensland in Brisbane we celebrated in style alongside some of our shortlisted creators, judges, local children’s literature legends and champions, and several of our generous sponsors. Here are the winners, selected by our child judges from across Australia and New Zealand. Picture Book Winner […]

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  • Kasi Valu named as 2026 Emerging Pasifika Writer in Residence 

      Victoria University of Wellington’s International Institute of Modern Letters (IIML) is delighted to announce the appointment of Kasi Valu as the Emerging Pasifika Writer in Residence for 2026. Kasi will use the residency to develop a collection of poems, spoken-word pieces, and short stories with the working title Frangipani Thorns.  Audiences may encounter historical reflections, social media discourse, political satire, community gossip, and […]

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  • SHORTLIST CELEBRATES THE MOST BEAUTIFULLY DESIGNED BOOKS IN AOTEAROA

      The most beautifully designed books in Aotearoa are recognised today with the announcement of the finalists for the 2026 PANZ Book Design Awards. The Publishers Association of New Zealand Te Rau o Tākupu (PANZ) established the awards to promote excellence in, and provide recognition for, the best book design in Aotearoa New Zealand. “The […]

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  • Aotearoa New Zealand Book Industry Awards 2026 Winners’ Announcement

      Schrödinger’s Books in Petone has won the NielsenIQ BookData Bookshop of the Year at the 2026 Aotearoa New Zealand Book Industry Awards for its skilful curation of books catering to diverse community interests and excellence in showcasing local and international authors in a year-long series of in-store events. The award was presented to the […]

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  • 2026 Lynley Dodd Children’s Writers Award to Claire Mabey

    The Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi is thrilled to announce the 2026 recipient of the Lynley Dodd Children’s Writers Award: Claire Mabey. Wellington-based author Claire is known for her richly imagined junior fiction and picture books, and for her wider contribution to Aotearoa New Zealand’s literary community. Her debut novel, The Raven’s Eye Runaways, is […]

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  • Votes surge for local authors and new books in Whitcoulls Top 100 2026 List

    Whitcoulls reveal that 26 New Zealand writers have made this year’s Top 100 – the highest level of local representation in the list’s nearly 30-year history. The results also point to a major shift in readers’ tastes, with an unusually high number of new titles entering the list for the first time, suggesting Kiwi readers […]

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  • NZSA members Morton & Keenan longlisted for 2026 ABR Elizabeth Jolley Short Story Prize

    2026 ABR Elizabeth Jolley Short Story Prize The Jolley Prize is worth a total of $12,500 and is for an original work of short fiction of between 2,000 and 5,000 words, written in English. This is the sixteenth time the Jolley Prize has run and it is one of the world’s leading prizes for short […]

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  • Janet Frame Prize for 2026 goes to Hinemoana Baker

    The trustees of the Janet Frame Literary Trust are delighted to announce that the Janet Frame Prize for 2026, worth $10,000, goes to Wellingtonian Hinemoana Baker (Ngāti Tupaia ki Te Aro, Ngāti Raukawa ki te Tonga, Ngāti Toa Rangatira, Te Āti Awa, Kāi Tahu, Germany, England). A celebrated poet, musician, performer and educator, Hinemoana Baker […]

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  • Puke Ariki NZ Children’s Book Week Writer in Residence Steph Julian

      In celebration of the first New Zealand Children’s Book Week, Puke Ariki and Community Libraries in Taranaki are hosting a Writer in Residence Programme celebrating storytelling, creativity and the joy of reading for pleasure among tamariki, rangatahi and their whānau. For 2026, Puke Ariki is delighted to welcome local author Steph Julian as our […]

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  • Wellington Writers Walk brings te reo Māori sculpture to Wellington waterfront in time for Matariki

    WELLINGTON WRITERS WALK RELEASE 2 July 2026 The sound of conch and pūkaea rang out across the Wellington waterfront on Thursday 25 June to welcome a group of writers, Te Wharewaka o Pōneke Trustees, representatives of local arts and literary organisations and friends and supporters of the Wellington Writers Walk, gathered for the unveiling of […]

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  • 2026 NFFD Competition Winners

    Congratulations to this year’s winners, announced June 22 at events across Aotearoa! All long-listed stories, along with judges’ notes from this competition, will be published at the end of June. Watch Flash Frontier for updates. Read the winning entries HERE:    2026 National Flash Fiction Day edition of Flash Frontier. ADULT FIRST The other Jim by Kim […]

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